James Meyers is a combat Vietnam veteran who participated in numerous tactical patrols and combat operations. He will give the keynote address at the 62nd Veterans Day Commemoration 10:45 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in the Main Library's Reading Garden Lounge.
After graduating as a second lieutenant from Officer’s Candidate School in 1966 and receiving additional training, Meyers was deployed to the Republic of South Vietnam in 1967 and assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment 1st Marine Division. In addition to his expert marksmanship badges, service, and campaign ribbons, he is also the recipient of several personal and unit combat awards. His unit’s action, as well as his personal 13-month combat tour, was memorialized in Lucia Viti’s book Dr. Tom’s War: A Daughter’s Journey.
As a young captain in 1968, he was selected as the aide-de-camp for Maj. Gen. Mike Ryan at Marine Corps Base Quantico. Following his release from active duty in 1969, Meyers served in the U.S. Secret Service as a special agent in Washington, D.C., and the White House during the Nixon and Ford presidencies.
After his military career, Meyers spent 25 years in the industrial field, where he led at the executive level several companies known for developing bioactive implantable products to reconstruct damaged human tissues. He holds four patents in the field of implantable medical devices. He retired in 2004 and lives in Blue Ash with his wife, Susan Rose. He’s active in the American Legion Post No. 630.
The 62nd Veterans Day Commemoration program includes the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Pipes & Drums, the lighting of the Flame of Remembrance, patriotic music, a presentation of Memorial Wreaths, and the playing of “Taps.” This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Public Library and the Library Programs Fund.
For more information, call 513-369-6900 or visit CincinnatiLibrary.org.
